Estepona will become a meeting place for fans of manga, anime, cosplay, video games and K-pop when the Costa del Sol Manga Festival returns for its fourth edition from Friday 18 to Sunday 20 September.
Organised by the non-profit association Pax Cultural, the three-day festival at the Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos will feature cosplay, gaming tournaments, K-pop contests and exhibitions, alongside artists, specialist traders and other activities inspired by Asian popular culture.
The festival will be open from 4 pm to 9 pm on Friday and from 10 am to 9 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Admission on Friday costs €3, but visitors wearing cosplay can enter free. Saturday and Sunday tickets cost €5, reduced to €3 for those arriving in costume.
Costa del Sol Manga Festival 2026 programme
The festival takes place at the Palacio de Congresos in Estepona.
Activities available throughout the festival
All day — Beyblade
All day — Discover the Bottle game
All day — Scavenger hunt
All day — Paint your own keyring workshop
All day — Paint your own bookmark workshop
All day — Cosplay photo areas
All day — Miniature-painting workshop
Friday 18 September
Main stage
17:15–17:30 — Welcome to the festival
17:30–18:00 — Pepelu trivia quiz
18:00–19:00 — Open karaoke
19:00–20:00 — Random Play K-pop
K-pop area
16:00–17:00 — Request hour
17:00–18:00 — Trivia games
18:00–19:00 — Open exhibition
19:00–20:00 — Random Play K-pop on the main stage
20:00–21:00 — Request hour
Talks and workshops
18:00 — Kanzashi talk and workshop with Marioara Lazau of Mery Made It. Discover the history of traditional Japanese floral hair ornaments and learn how to make your own decorative hairpin.
Trading cards and board games
18:00 — Introduction to the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Video game tournaments
17:30 — Guilty Gear tournament
18:30 — Mario Tennis tournament
Saturday 19 September
Main stage
12:00–14:00 — Karaoke competition
14:00–14:30 — Video game trivia quiz
17:00 — Geek trivia with PepeluVZ
18:00 — Individual cosplay competition
19:00–20:00 — Random Play K-pop
20:00–21:00 — Random Play J-pop
An additional trivia contest covering the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s is listed for Saturday, although no time is currently shown.
Talks and presentations
12:00–13:00 — Official presentation of La Ciudad de Metal. Author Gemma Swan introduces her steampunk novel about freedom, equality and social justice.
13:00–13:40 — The age of mecha. A journey from the first super robots of the 1970s and 1980s to Transformers, Gundam, Evangelion and modern remakes.
17:00–18:00 — Introduction to Japanese. A beginner-friendly lesson covering basic expressions and Japanese writing.
18:00–18:40 — Interview with Mangaline by Juan Mangas Roa. A look behind the scenes at bringing Japanese manga to the Spanish market.
19:00–20:00 — Comics, manga and fantasy cinema with Víctor Marín.
20:00–20:45 — Cosplay wig-styling workshop with Karmaa_Cos.
K-pop and J-pop area
11:00–12:00 — Request hour
12:00–13:00 — K-pop trivia
13:00–14:00 — J-pop trivia
15:00–16:00 — Request hour
16:00–18:00 — Decorate your own photocard holder
18:00–19:00 — Request hour
19:00–20:00 — Random Play K-pop on the main stage
20:00–21:00 — Random Play J-pop on the main stage
General activities
11:00–17:00 — Create your own Miku
Trading cards and board games
11:00 — Final Fantasy Trading Card Game tournament
Video game tournaments
12:00 — Mario Kart World
13:30 — Tekken 8
16:00 — Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
19:00 — Street Fighter 6
Warhammer
12:00–13:00 — Introduction to Warhammer Age of Sigmar
17:00–18:00 — Introduction to Warhammer 40,000
Sunday 20 September
Main stage
11:00–11:30 — Geek trivia covering the 2000s and later
12:00–13:00 — Individual K-pop competition
13:00–14:00 — Group K-pop competition
14:00 — Children’s cosplay competition
15:00–17:00 — Open karaoke
17:00 — Group cosplay competition
18:00–19:00 — Random Play K-pop
19:00–20:00 — Open exhibition
20:00–21:00 — Main-stage closing
K-pop area
10:00–11:00 — Request hour
11:00–12:00 — K-pop trivia
12:00–13:00 — Individual competition on the main stage
13:00–14:00 — Group competition on the main stage
15:00–16:00 — Request hour
16:00–18:00 — Decorate your own photocard holder
18:00–19:00 — Random Play K-pop on the main stage
19:00–20:00 — Open exhibition on the main stage
General activities
11:00–17:00 — Create your own Miku
Trading cards and board games
11:00 — Magic: The Gathering Commander tournament
11:00 — Pokémon Trading Card Game tournament
All day — Introduction to the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Video game tournaments
12:00 — Dragon Ball FighterZ
16:00 — Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls
Warhammer
12:00–12:30 — Warhammer prize draw
What’s on Guide
For more information about local events visit the Manilva Life What’s on Guide
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